CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -
Fourth-year middle Alexis Geocaris (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) smacked a season-high 20 kills while hitting .455 in leading the University of Virginia volleyball team to a 3-1 (30-26, 30-22, 27-30, 30-26) victory over Florida State Saturday (October 10) at Memorial Gym. The Cavaliers improve to 13-5 overall and 3-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with the victory. The Seminoles fall to 9-7 overall and 2-4 in the conference.

Geocaris scored a match-high 22.5 points in the victory. She recorded her match-best 20 kills (just one shy of her career high) on only 33 swings with five errors. Geocaris also added four blocks and a pair of digs. First-year outside hitter Sarah Kirkwood (Tampa, Fla./Plant) totaled 19 kills with a .308 hitting percentage, while second-year outside hitter Lindsay Osco (Houston, Texas/Elkins) rounded out the Cavaliers in double figure kills with 12. She also added eight digs and a pair of blocks. First-year middle Katie Oakes (Lorton, Va./Evangel Christian School) notched eight kills and four block assists.

Second-year setter Emily Kirkwood (Tampa, Fla./Plant) had an outstanding match with 63 assists, seven digs, five kills, four service aces and three block assists. Her 63 assists and four aces were match highs. First-year libero Melissa Caldwell (Houston, Texas/Stratford) was the only player on either team to reach double figures in digs as she totaled 11.

Lauren Scott and Nikki Anthony led Florida State with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Scott also hit .400 and added three block assists. Aisha Carr had 10 kills and a match-best nine blocks. Jessica Skower handed out 53 assists and added four block assists.

The Cavaliers hit .256 in the match with 72 kills. Florida State had 59 kills and a .219 hitting percentage. UVa held a 7-1 advantage in service aces, while the Seminoles had a 14-8 edge in team blocks. FSU also held a slight 44-42 advantage in digs.

In the first game, Virginia registered 14 kills in its first 20 attack attempts and went on to record a 30-26 victory. Geocaris and Sarah Kirkwood both hit .625 with six kills in game one. Kirkwood had nine kills in helping lead UVa to a 30-22 win in the second game. The Cavaliers tied the second game at 17-17 on a kill by Osco and went on to score the next two points to take the lead for good. A UVa service error made the score 18-17, but the Cavaliers broke the game open with five consecutive points.

Florida State closed the gap with a 30-27 victory in game three. A kill by Geocaris tied the game at 24-24, but the Seminoles scored the next three points to grab a 27-24 lead. Virginia closed out the match with a 30-26 win in the fourth game. The Cavaliers never trailed in the game, but Florida State nearly erased a 25-20 deficit with a 4-0 run to close within a point, 25-24. A kill by third-year outside hitter Kristin Chaney (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) halted the FSU run. After a kill by Scott, UVa received back-to-back kills from Osco and Oakes and a match-point kill by Geocaris sealed the victory.

UVa returns to action on October 15 when it travels to Atlanta, Ga. for a 7:00 p.m. match against Georgia Tech.